A GOOD AGE: Plymouth sisters enjoy life as it comes

Jackie Bellio and Janet Lagace, sisters from Plymouth, ages 79 and 75, carry good vibes with them wherever they go. Running into them by chance made me think about simple things to be grateful for this Thanskgiving season.

They simply make the day go better for others. There should be more people like them. Those are thoughts I had after meeting Jackie Bellio and Janet Lagace, sisters from Plymouth, ages 79 and 75, who carry good vibes with them wherever they go.

I had the good fortune of running into them by chance a month ago when I was having my car serviced. Afterward, I realized they had set just the right tone for the day and elevated my spirits a few notches without even trying.

Every November, I think ahead to Thanksgiving and wonder what my holiday column will be. This year, I decided to do not just one column, but several, in advance of the major family holiday, because there are many ways of realizing how much there is to appreciate, in different ways. Some are profound; others, the daily basics.

I was outside Planet Subaru in Hanover early one October morning, waiting for my car, when two older women slowly got out of their SUV and walked toward the service desk. One was balancing a large box of doughnuts.

Inside, the young service representatives all greeted them with “Nice to see you again” and “How are you doing?”

“I’m so good that if I were any better I couldn’t stand it!” Lagace said with a big smile. Bellio laughed.

“The Bellio sisters are two of our favorites,” Matt, their service rep, said, not just because they bring them treats. Their sunny spirits count for a lot.

Bellio and Lagace grew up and worked in Rhode Island before they ended up in Plymouth. Bellio was a service rep for the phone company; Lagace was a medical receptionist. Lagace “fell in love” with Plymouth 30 years ago and announced she would retire there. No one thought she meant it, but here she is. They live together in the Pine Hills development, where, Lagace said, “Our street, there’s not a neighbor on it that’s not wonderful.”

I’d gone over to talk to them as they sat and waited, and the conversation instantly felt natural, as if we were friends. They were candid and funny. I asked about aging.

“I don’t like it, but I have no choice,” Bellio said. “It prevents me from doing things I used to do so easily and not even think about. I find it insulting. I don’t care for it one bit.”

I asked what they do like about their age.

“We don’t have to work,” Lagace said.

“And we’re enjoying every day,” Bellio said. “Getting up in the morning, if you do, it’s wonderful, from there on in, its all uphill.”

Bellio goes to bed at night, as she always did, thinking about the things she can accomplish the next day.

Page 2 of 2 - “At one time, everything on my list got done. Now I have to back off and say I did what I could and there is always tomorrow.”

I liked their refreshing realism, without sugar coating. They don’t get down on themselves.

“There’s no future in berating,” Bellio said.

“Crying about it only makes your eyes run and your nose drips and you still have the same problems,” Lagace added.

Together, they laughed.

It made my day to meet them.

“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”